Lee was born on Nov. 13, 1913, in Greens Farms, daughter of the late Frederick and Emma Parsell Anderson. Named for her mother, she acquired the name "Sooky" from her older sister during high school, then renamed herself "Lee" among her many friends in Cheshire, where she and her husband, Seymour "Si" D. Pelz, made their home on Cheshire Street for many years. That home provided a base for many decades of community service to the town she loved.

Her friends describe Lee as inspirational to others for her tireless service to her community, for her vision and commitment to making Cheshire the best town it could be, and for her tenacity in seeing projects through. Lee was a founder of the Cheshire Land Trust in 1969 and one of the founders of the Cheshire League of Women Voters. She served on Planning and Zoning and was active on the town's Beautification Committee, Republican Town Committee, the Cheshire Garden Club, the Grange, and the Cheshire Historical Society, which benefited from the donation of her large collection of silver and ceramic miniatures. Lee was a member of the First Congregational Church of Cheshire and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. She was the 1990 recipient of the Chester Bowles Community Service Award from Cheshire Academy.

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